Behind  the  Scenes  in  a 
Restaurant 


By 
The  Consumers'  League  of  New  York  City 

1916 


Distributed  by 
CONSUM^?tS'LEAG  ;-  OF  -.Ab"    '  YORK  STAT»=: 


GIFT  OF 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/behindscenesinreOOconsrich 


Behind  the  Scenes  in  a 
Restaurant 


A  Study  of  1017  Women  Restaurant 
Employees 


By 
The  Consumers'  League  of  New  York  City 

1916 


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TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

1.  fokewokd   1 

2.  Plan^  of  Study 3 

3.  The  WoKKER 6 

Age  6 

Nationality  8 

Family  and  Home 10 

4.  Hours    1 2 

Weekly  Hours  of  Labor 12 

The  Day  of  a  Restaurant  Worker 15 

Night  Work  and  One  Day's  Rest  in  Seven 17 

The  Long-day  Workers 19 

5.  Wages    20 

Weekly  Wages  20 

The  Tipping  System 23 

Irregularity  of  Employment ^.  25 

Lack  of  Opportunity  in  Restaurant  Work 26 

6.  Summary  of  Study 27 

7.  Recommendations  for  Legislative  Amendment...  29 

8.  Appendix  I. — A  Statement  from  the  Labor  De- 

partment of  the  State  of  New  York  Advo- 
cating the  Limitation  of  Hours  of  Work  for 

Restaurant  Employees  31 

9.  Appendix  II. — Extracts  from  a  Tentative  Report 

on  the  Physical  Condition  of  Women  Employ- 
ees in  Restaurants,  Based  on  a  Study  Con- 
ducted  by   the    Occupational    Clinic    of   the 

Health  Department  of  the  City  of  New  York...  33 

10.  Appendix  III. — Restaurant  Work  from  a  Work- 

er 's  Point  of  View 35 

11.  Appendix  IV. — Schedule  Used 37 

12.  Appendix  V.— Tables  39 

13.  Appendix  VI. — State  Laws  Regulating  Work  of 

Women  Employed  in  Restaurants 47 

361113 


Wanted— A   Rest 


FOREWORD. 

^'I  keep  hearing  about  laws  for  women.  Where  are 
they  ? ' '  This  was  the  question  asked  by  a  woman  work- 
ing twelve  hours  a  day  in  a  restaurant.  What  must  we 
tell  her?  What  excuse  have  we  to  offer  for  excluding 
her  from  the  protection  the  law  gives  to  women  working 
in  factories  and  mercantile  establishments?  That  we 
have  safeguarded  women  in  these  fields  of  employment 
from  overwork  proves  that  we  know  the  dangers  of  over- 
work, that  long  hours  interpreted  in  terms  of  human  life 
mean  exhaustion,  disease,  immorality,  pauperism  and  a 
weaker  generation  to  follow  our  own.  This  is  an  old 
story,  it  has  been  told  again  and  again.  Yet  with  our 
over-sensitiveness  to  an  encroachment  upon  the  rights 
and  liberties  of  American  citizens,  we  have  failed  to  ex- 
tend the  protection  of  our  laws  to  all  who  need  their  pro- 
tection. 

The  New  York  State  Labor  Law  as  it  stands  makes  . 
it  illegal  to  employ  women  in  factories  and  mercantile  ^ 
establishments  more  than  fifty-four  hours  or  six  days  in 
any  one  week,  or  between  ten  o'clock  at  night  and  six 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  So  far,  so  good.  If  these  laws 
are  enforced,  we  may  feel  fairly  confident  that  women  in 
these  branches  of  industry  at  least  have  some  measure 
of  protection.  But  what  of  the  women  not  safeguarded 
by  the  law?  Who  are  they,  and  why  should  they  be  neg- 
lected? 

Between  fifteen  and  twenty  thousand  of  these  women  i 
are  workers  in  restaurants — waitresses,  cooks,  kitchen  } 
girls,  pantry  hands — upon  whose  services  all  of  us  depend  \ 
at  one  time  or  another  for  our  comfort  and  pleasure.  The   ^ 
Consumers'  League  of  New  York  City  has  long  felt  the 
need  of  including  restaurant  workers  under  the  provisions 
of  the  Labor  Law.    The  State  Department  of  Labor  lays 
special  stress  upon  this  need.*    Believing,  therefore,  both 
from  casual  observation  and  from  the  statement  of  the 
Labor  Department  that  women  in  restaurants  are  not 
properly  guarded  from   industrial   strain,   the   League 
planned  to  explore  the  field  further,  to  discover  just 
what  actually  are  the  hours,  wages  and  general  conditions 

*  See  Appendix  I. 


of  work  in  this  branch  of  industry  and  to  learn  their 
effect  upon  the  life  and  health  of  the  worker. 

A  valuable  study  of  this  subject  was  made  in  1910  by 
the  United  States  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  for  New 
York  and  several  of  the  larger  cities  of  the  country.* 
Though  the  Consumers'  League  has  not  entered  upon 
wholly  new  ground,  yet  with  adequate  time  for  detailed 
study  it  has  been  possible  for  it  to  make  a  more  exhaus- 
tive inquiry  than  any  made  heretofore,  and  to  bring  to 
light  new  phases  of  the  question.  The  story  of  its  dis- 
coveries is  told  in  the  pages  that  follow,  to  this  end,  that 
with  wider  knowledge  of  facts,  public  interest  may  be 
reawakened  and  stimulated  to  demand  adequate  legal 
protection  for  women  employed  in  restaurants. 

C"^     *  Women   and   Child   Wage-earners   in   the   United    States,   Vol.   V., 
Chap.  X. 


PLAN  OF  STUDY. 

Believing  that  one  of  the  most  satisfactory  sources 
of  information  in  regard  to  labor  conditions  is  the  word 
of  the  workers  themselves,  the  Consumers'  League  de- 
cided to  base  its  study  mainly  upon  interviews  with 
restaurant  employees.  One  thousand  and  seventeen 
(1,017)  women  were  interviewed  in  New  York  City  and 
in  six  of  the  larger  cities  of  the  State.  They  were  seen 
in  their  homes,  at  their  places  of  employment  and  through 
employment  agencies. 

In  New  York  City  all  the  interviews  were  held  at  the 
Occupational  Clinic  of  the  Board  of  Health,  where, 
through  the  courtesy  of  Dr.  Harris,  Chief  of  the  Bureau 
of  Industrial  Hygiene,  a  room  was  set  aside  for  the  use 
of  the  League  investigator.  In  response  to  a  requirement 
of  the  Health  Department,  all  food-handlers  in  the  city 
come  to  the  Clinic  for  a  physical  examination  and  cer- 
tificate testifying  that  they  are  free  from  communicable 
disease.  The  investigator  could  in  this  way  meet  the 
women  on  neutral  ground  when  there  was  no  temptation 
to  conceal  or  distort  facts,  and  talk  confidentially  with 
them.  The  interviews  taken  at  the  Clinic  in  ^ve  months 
would  have  required  at  least  a  year  to  get  in  any  other 
way. 

The  New  York  State  Consumers'  League  and  the 
branch  leagues  in  Buffalo,  Syracuse  and  Mr.  Vernon  co- 
operated in  interviewing  women  in  localities  outside  of 
New  York  City,  and  the  same  undesirable  conditions  were 
found  to  prevail  throughout  the  State. 

Supplementary  information  was  also  obtained  from 
all  other  available  sources,  such  as  employers,  employ- 
ment agencies,  girls'  clubs  and  published  reports.  The 
workers  came  from  every  kind  of  restaurant,  including 
hotels,  tea-rooms,  buffet  and  dairy  lunches,  cafeterias 
and  clubs.  In  this  way  it  was  possible  to  get  in  touch 
with  a  thoroughly  representative  group  of  workers,  in- 
cluding the  best  paid  as  well  as  the  most  underpaid. 

In  undertaking  the  investigation,  the  League  sought 
to  answer  three  questions :  first,  what  are  the  actual  con- 
ditions of  labor  prevailing  in  the  restaurants  of  New 
York  State;  second,  are  these  conditions  such  that  the 


worker  may  lead  a  wholesome,  normal  life;  and  third, 
how  do  these  conditions  react  through  the  individual 
worker  upon  society  as  a  whole. 


The  Consumers'  League  acknowledges  its  deep  in- 
debtedness to  Dr.  Harris  for  the  helpful  interest  that  he 
has  taken  in  its  work,  and  for  his  courtesy  in  allowing 
the  League  investigator  to  take  interviews  at  the  Occu- 
pational Clinic. 


The  Normal  Working  Day — 
Eight  Hours. 


A  Common  Occurrence- 
Fifteen  Hours. 


There  is  no  class  of  employees  who  serve  the  public 
so  directly  as  do  restaurant  workers.  Also,  it  is  obvi- 
ously of  vital  interest  to  the  public  that  those  who  serve 
them  in  this  way  be  strong  and  healthy  since  they  are 
in  a  position  peculiarly  adapted  to  spread  disease.  The 
study  just  terminated  has  brought  to  light  certain  facts 
which  point  to  a  grave  danger  to  the  individual  worker, 
to  those  whom  she  serves  and  to  the  community.  Hard 
work  kept  up  for  incredibly  long  hours,  low  pay,  health 
impaired  and  resistance  to  disease  lowered  through 
fatigue — these  are  some  of  the  facts  which  make  action 
on  our  part  necessary,  that  restaurant  work  may  be  a 
safe  and  wholesome  occupation. 


TPIE   WORKEE. 
Age. 

An  outstanding  feature  of  restaurant  work  is  the 
presence  in  this  occupation  of  a  very  large  proportion  of 
girls  and  young  women.  One-fourth  of  all  the  workers 
are  under  21,  and  two-thirds  under  30  years  of  age.  (See 
Diagram  1).  There  are  several  reasons  to  account  for 
this  fact. 

A  certain  amount  of  excitement  attaches  to  the  work 
of  a  restaurant  waitress  which  appeals  to  young  girls. 
She  sees  and  talks  to  a  great  many  people ;  she  likes  the 
noise  and  bustle  and  cheerful  atmosphere  of  the  dining 
room.  Also,  the  employer  prefers  young  and  pretty  girls 
as  waitresses,  especially  where  the  customers  are  mostly 
men.  They  help  to  make  his  place  attractive  and  popu- 
lar. One  waitress  remarked,  **When  the  girls  get  to 
looking  bad,  they  are  laid  off  and  someone  else  is  put 
in  their  place.  * ' 

As  might  be  expected,  restaurant  cooks  are  a  some- 
what older  set  of  women  than  the  waitresses,  not  quite 
one-half  being  under  30  years.  Their  work  requires 
experience  and  the  ability  to  think  and  plan.  Consider- 
ing the  nature  and  demands  of  the  work,  it  is  startling 
to  find  that  twenty  per  cent,  of  their  number  are  girls 
not  yet  21  years  old. 

Over  seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the  kitchen  girls  and 
other  helpers*  are  under  30,  and  nearly  half  under  21. 
This  is  the  youngest  group.  Their  work  needs  no  skill 
or  previous  training,  the  chief  requirement  being  physi- 
cal strength. 

The  youth  of  these  restaurant  workers  gives  rise  to 
two  distinct  dangers,  a  physical  danger  and  a  moral  one. 
Restaurant  work  necessarily  involves  many  hours  of 
standing  and  walking,  lifting  and  carrying  heavy  weights. 
This  is  an  unavoidable  feature,  but  it  is  of  the  utmost 
importance  that  it  be  not  ignored.  Medical  authorities 
have  pointed  out  the  serious  results  that  follow  the  strain 
of  continued  standing  and  over-work  of  young  girls.  Dr. 
Harris  states  that  in  occupations  which  require   such 

*  Dishwashers,  silver  cleaners,  tray  girls,  cashiers,  laundry  workers 
and  pantry  hands  are  included  in  this  term. 


lifting  and  carrying  and  such  long  hours  of  standing 
'*  there  is  a  definite  hazard  to  the  child-bearing  capacity 
of  women.  This  is  of  vital  consequence  to  society  as  a 
whole. '  ^ 

The  moral  danger  of  the  work  is  largely  confined  to 
waitresses.  Because  of  their  position,  they  are  pecu- 
liarly exposed  to  the  attentions  of  men  customers.  For 
this  very  reason,  the  Baltimore  Vice  Commission  recom- 
mends that  only  older  and  more  experienced  women  be 
employed  in  this  capacity,  while  in  Norway  the  law  sets 
a  minimum  age  limit  for  waitresses  in  public  places. 

If  the  restaurant  worker  is  to  resist  the  strain  of 
the  work  and  the  temptations  to  which  she  is  exposed, 
hours  and  conditions  must  be  so  adjusted  as  to  prevent 
all  overtaxing  of  her  strength  and  elasticity. 


AMerloan 

Auatro-Hungarian 

English  &  Canadlcin 

German 

Irish 

Polish 

Rueaian 

Other 


y 


Diagram  2. — Nationality  of  Women  Restaurant  Workers. 

Nationauty. 

The  majority  of  restaurant  workers  are  foreigners. 
Less  than  one-third  are  American-bom,  and  of  these  a 
great  many  have  foreign-bom  parents  aad  live  among 
members  of  their  own  race,  so  that  they  can  hardly  be 
classed  as  Americans.  The  largest  single  group  is  made 
up  of  Austro-Hungarians.  (See  Diagram  2).  The  de- 
mand for  cheap,  unskilled  labor  in  this  occupation  calls 
for  the  kind  of  service  which  these  girls  and  others  of 
the  European  peasant  class  can  give.  The  outdoor  life 
in  the  fields  of  their  native  land  fits  them  for  the  hard 
labor  required  in  a  restaurant  kitchen.  They  do  not  re- 
main fit  long,  however.  After  a  year  or  two  of  this  work, 
much  of  their  sturdiness  is  lost,  color  and  brightness  are 
gone  from  their  faces,  and  they  have  become  pale  and 
listless.  A  curiously  dull,  passive  look  is  characteristic 
of  many  of  them. 

Living  as  they  do  among  their  own  people  these  young 
peasants  have  no  opportunity  to  absorb  American  stand- 
ards and  customs.  Their  ignorance  makes  it  easy  for 
employers  to  exploit  them,  demanding  hours  of  labor 
and  paying  wages  to  which  no  American  girl  would  sub- 
mit. An  employment  agent  said:  **My  'phone  rings  day 
and  night — aU  want  peasant  girls  for  kitchen  helpers 
because  they  are  the  only  kind  that  will  stand  such  long 
^hours."  Attempts  to  organize  restaurant  workers  in 
New  York  State  have  never  succeeded.  The  Secretary 
of  the  Hotel  and  Eestaurant  Employees'  International 
Alliance,  speaking  of  their  unsuccessful  efforts  along 

8 


this  line  in  New  York  City  in  1915,  says,  *  ^  This  is  not  the 
first  attempt  to  organize  the  girls.  We  have  had  a  sim- 
ilar experience  before, — in  fact  have  had  three  experi- 
ences in  that  city  and  none  of  them  a  bit  more  encour- 
aging that  the  present  one/'  This  is  largely  due  to  the 
presence  of  so  great  a  number  of  young  foreign  girls  in 
this  occupation.  They  are  not  in  a  position  to  unite  and 
Avork  for  their  own  protection.  The  only  channel  through 
which  that  protection  can  come  is  the  law. 


(iiiiininiinniiDsi^ 


345f. 


iiiiiiiiiimiiininiiiiiiiiTT^  33^, 


I353fi 


CD  family       ^  friende 

1 1  single      ^a 

widowed 

OniD  relativesBB  furnlehed 

Binn  married    m 

Qivorced 

■1  proprietor 

Diagram    3. — Living    Condition    of 
Women  Employed  in  Restaurants. 


Diagram   4. — Marital   Condition   of 
Women  Employed  in  Restaurants. 


Family  and  Home. 

While  the  greater  number  of  restaurant  workers  are 
unmarried,  it  is  rather  surprising  to  find  so  large  a  pro- 
portion of  married  women  in  the  work.  (See  Diagram 
4.)  This  is  easily  explained,  however,  by  the  fact  that 
many  of  them  are  ^*  one-meal  *'  girls,  that  is,  they  are  em- 
ployed only  for  the  rush  hour  at  noon.  In  this  way  they 
can  earn  a  little  extra  money  while  their  husbands  are  at 
work,  either  as  **  pin-money '*  for  themselves,  or  to  help 
toward  the  support  of  the  children. 

The  majority  of  restaurant  employees  live  with  their 
family  or  relatives  (See  Diagram  3),  but  this  does  not 
mean  that  they  are  not  entirely  self-dependent.  As  large 
a  proportion  of  a  girPs  wage  goes  into  the  family  ex- 
chequer as  she  would  have  to  pay  for  board  and  lodging 
elsewhere.  The  financial  advantage  of  living  at  home 
appears  chiefly  in  giving  her  a  place  of  refuge  when  she 
is  out  of  a  job. 

Restaurant  workers  are  a  tenement  house  population. 
A  few,  to  be  sure,  can  afford  comfortable  little  apart- 
ments of  their  own,  but  as  a  whole  their  lot  falls  within 
the  congested  tenement  districts  of  the  city.  Confusion, 
over-crowding,  dirt,  lack  of  sunlight,  air  and  privacy, 
and  unwholesome  surroundings  are  only  too  common  in 
their  homes.  The  janitor  of  an  East  Side  tenement  house 
said:  ^*A  little  while  ago  down  in  Third  Street  there 
were  twenty-three  girls  sleeping  in  two  rooms.  TheyM 
put  their  matresses  down  on  the  floor  at  night  and  pile 


10 


them  on  top  of  each  other  in  the  day  time.  Most  of 
them  were  kitchen  hands  at 's/'  naming  a  well- 
known  chain  of  restaurants. 

The  low  standards  of  the  European  peasant  class 
from  which  restaurant  workers  are  largely  recruited, 
drag  down  all  standards.  No  other  result  is  possible 
under  present  conditions.  They  live — but  howl  Low 
wages,  miserably  long  hours,  no  opportunity  to  fit  them- 
selves for  their  new  surroundings — this  is  what  we  offer 
these  young  peasant  girls  who  come  to  America  con- 
fidently expecting  better  things  than  they  have  left  be- 
hind. 


11 


HOURS. 

Weekly  Houbs  of  Labor. 

The  salient  characteristic  of  restaurant  work  is  the 
length  of  the  working  day.  Fifty-eight  per  cent,  of  the 
women  employees  work  each  week  beyond  the  fifty-f our- 
honr  limit  set  by  law  for  women  in  stores  and  factories. 
A  twelve-hour  day  and  a  seven-day  week  is  the  lot  of  one- 
fifth  of  these  workers.  (See  Diagram  5.)  A  fifteen-hour 
day  is  not  uncommon.  Not  quite  one-half  of  the  wait- 
resses work  over  54  hours  a  week  or  9  hours  a  day.  The 
reason  for  this  is  that  a  large  number  of  them,  31  i>er 
cent.,  are  *^  one-meal  girls.''  Seventy -eight  per  cent,  of 
all  other  restaurant  workers,  however,  exceed  the  fifty- 
four  hour  week. 

Comparing  the  hours  of  labor  of  these  women  with 
the  hours  of  labor  of  all  employees,  both  male  and 
female,  in  the  factories  of  New  York  State,  four  per  cent, 
of  the  factory  employees  and  thirty-five  per  cent,  of 
the  women  restaurant  employees  work  over  sixty  hours 
a  week.  Two  per  cent,  of  the  factory  employees  and 
twenty  per  cent,  of  the  women  in  restaurants  work  seven- 
tv-two  hours  or  over.* 


all  employees  in 
factories 

female  enjployees 
in  restaurants 

■■   72,hours 
■■^    and  over 

fi                                   1 

mmmA             i 

B^  over  6Q_and       CD    60  hours  and 
•^^^  -under  73  nours^               under 

Diagram    6, — Comparison    of   Weekly    Hours    of   Labor   for   Women    in 
Restaurants  and  all  Factory  Employees  in  New  York  State. 

Shorter  hours  have  been  brought  about  in  factories 
by  the  voluntary  action  of  manufacturers,  who  recog- 
nize the  inefficiency  of  over-worked  men  and  women;  by 
concerted  action  of  the  workers,  who  have  united  to  fight 
for  their  own  protection;  and  by  legal  enactment,  prov- 
ing that  the  people  of  New  York  State  are  alive  to  the 
dangers  of  overwork.  Some  restaurant  managers  realize 
the  waste  and  harm  of  too  long  hours  and  arrange  their 

*13th  U.  S.  Census,  1910.  Vol.  VIII,  Manufactures,  p.  314 

12 


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employees '  time  accordingly ;  most  of  them  do  not.  Wo- 
men restaurant  workers  in  New  York  State  have  never 
been  successfully  organized;  they  cannot  protect  them- 
selves. They  have  no  legal  redress  for  overwork ;  the 
law  has  neglected  them.  In  the  course  of  this  investiga- 
tion, a  girl  of  twenty  was  found  working  one  hundred 
and  twenty-two  hours  a  week — longer  than  the  law  al- 
lows factory  employees  to  work  in  two  weeks.  Yet  this 
is  within  the  law.  Although  restaurants  differ  from 
stores  and  factories  in  keeping  open  more  hours  a  day, 
and  sometimes  for  the  whole  twenty-four,  a  system  of"> 
shifts  would  do  away  with  the  scandalously  long  hours  ) 
to  which  thousands  of  girls  and  women  are  bound.  ""^ 

That  restaurant  work  is  at  best  a  great  drain  upon    i 
the  phyisical  strength  and  nervous  force  of  the  worker    \ 
is  evident.  Standing,  walking,  lifting  and  carrying  heavy     | 
weights  is  unavoidable.    The  report  on  restaurants  made 
by  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  saysir 
"There  was  much  complaint  among  the  waitresses  that 
the  work  was  very  hard  and  they  could  stand  it  but  a  few 
years.    A  number  of  the  girls  interviewed  had  worked 
as  three  meal  girls  until  their  health  was  broken;  then 
they  took  positions  as  one  meal  girls  and  barely  made  a 
living.    Carrying  the  heavy  trays  and  the  constant  stand- 
ing and  walking  cause  ill  health.    Usually  a  man  is  em- 
ployed to  carry  away  the  empty  dishes,  but  the  wait- 
resses must  bring  the  trays  loaded  with  food."*  /       „^ 

Besides  the  cost  to  endurance,  nerves  are  at  constant  \ 
tension  for  hurry  is  the  remorseless  rule.     A  waitress  Y 
must  not  only  remember  a  multitude  of  orders  and  fill  1  \ 

them  quickly,  but  she  must  keep  her  temper  under  the    \         \ 

exactions  of  the  most  trying  customer.     The  cook  must     V ^ 

keep  her  head  amid  the  confusion  and  noise  of  a  hot,      \ 
crowded  kitchen.    The  kitchen  girl  must  be  everywhere      \ 
at  once  with  a  helping  hand  and  the  dish-washer's  very        \ 
job  depends  upon  her  quickness.  One  of  this  latter  group        { 
said  that  she  washes  seven  thousand  articles  in  an  hour 
and  a  half.     A  waitress,  when  asked  the  effect  of  the  v     j 
work  upon  her,  answered,  "Sore  feet  and  a  devilish  mean  \/ 
disposition.''     A  man  restaurant  worker  speaking  of  j 
kitchen  girls  remarked,  "It's  no  work  for  a  woman./ 
They  have  to  lift  heavy  pots  full  of  vegetables  and  fill 

*  Women  and  Child  Wage-earners  in  the  United  States.  Vol.  V,  p.  19&. 

13 


in  all  the  gaps.    A  man  has  some  endurance,  but  a  woman 
can't  stand  it  more  than  nine  hours  a  day/* 

Many  kinds  of  work  are  difficult  and  taxing  in  tlieir 
performance,  but  if  the  working  day  is  not  prolonged  be- 
yond a  certain  point,  and  there  is  a  sufficient  period  of 
rest,  such  work  is  not  necessarily  injurious  to  the  health 
of  the  worker.    If  this  point  is  passed,  health  is  impaired. 


14 


A  MOVIE 
OF  THE  RESTAURANT  WORKER 


7  A.M. 

The  Waitress 

arrives -15 

Iminutes  for 

breakfast 

II 

1715  to  10  A.M. 

Customers 

must  be 

served 

III 

10  to  12  A.M. 
She  sorts 
folds  and 
polishes 

IV 

12to3P.M. 

With  heavy 

trays  she 

walks  about 

five  miles 


HER  PROGRAM  FOR  ( 


V 

3to5P.M. 

Tree"  and 

nowhere 

to  go 

VI 

5to8P.M. 

Carrying 

trays  and 

walking 

many  miles 

VII 

9  P.M. 

Exhausted 

Home  and 

to  bed 

VIII 
6  A.M. 
The  daily 
grind  be- 
gins again 


ELEVEN  HOURSADAY! 
SEVEN  DAYS  AWEEK! 


The  Day  of  a  Eestaurant  Worker. 

The  day  of  a  restaurant  worker  does  not  begin  with 
her  arrival  at  the  restaurant  nor  end  when  she  leaves. 
Half  of  these  women  live  at  a  distance,  taking  thirty 
minutes  or  more  to  reach  their  place  of  employment. 
When  this  extra  hour  spent  in  going  to  and  from  work 
is  added  to  a  twelve  hour  day,  it  is  a  factor  to  be  reckoned 
with.  It  means  cutting  off  an  already  insufficient  night's 
rest,  and,  when  a  girl  cannot  afford  carfare,  a  weary 
walk  home  after  being  on  her  feet  all  day.  Nor  is  this  all. 
Only  a  few  of  the  best-paid  waitresses  can  afford  to  pay 
for  the  laundering  of  their  aprons  and  uniforms.  Con- 
sequently this  must  be  done  by  the  girl  herself,  adding 
another  burden  to  a  load  already  too  heavy. 

The  law  requires  that  girls  in  factories  and  stores 
have  at  least  one-half  hour  off  for  luncheon.    This  does 
not  apply  to  restaurant  workers.    The  ^* one-meal"  girls  \ 
eat  before  and  after  serving,  but  the  majority  of  the    \ 
^^two-meaP'  and  full-time  girls  have  no  time  at  all  for    ' 
meals.    They  must  eat  when  they  can  snatch  a  moment 
from  their  work.    There  were  many  complaints  of  indi-  " 
gestion  and  loss  of  appetite  from  the  workers  as  a  re- 
sult of  haste  and  irregularity  in  taking  their  meals.    One 
girl  remarked,  ^ ^You're  glad  to  grab  'em  any  way  you 
can  round  here,"  and  another  said,  *^It's  a  wonder  more 
girls  aren't  dead,  the  way  they  eat  all  of  a  rush.    Often 
the  smell  of  food  all  the  time  takes  away  my  appetite  so 
I  can't  eat  any  way." 

A  regular  time  off  for  meals  would  be  of  great  benefit 
to  the  worker  not  only  in  allowing  her  to  eat  quietly  and 
comfortably,  but  in  giving  her  a  little  rest.  In  some 
restaurants  after  the  noon  rush  is  over  the  girls  can  sit 
down  and  do  ^  *  side-work, "  folding  napkins,  polishing  sil-i 
ver,  filling  salt-cellars,  etc.  The  greater  number  of  girls,\ 
however,  have  no  so-called  ^4dle  time."  They  must  be  ( 
on  their  job  continuously.  In  other  restaurants  the  girls 
work  on  a  ^^ split  trick,"  that  is,  they  have  one  or  two 
hours  off  in  the  afternoon.  This  is  a  very  unpopular  ar- 
rangement. Not  only  does  it  keep  them  out  late  in  the 
evening,  but  they  cannot  use  their  free  time  to  good  ad- 
vantage. There  is  little  opportunity  for  recreation  or 
social  intercourse  during  these  hours  because  they  come 
in  the  morning  or  afternoon  when  the  girls'  friends  are 

15 


all  at  work.  Nor  is  there  ordinarily  time  for  fresh  air 
and  exercise,  especially  in  the  case  of  the  kitchen  work- 
ers. A  waitress  usually  has  only  to  take  off  her  apron 
to  be  ready  for  the  street,  but  the  other  women  have  not 
time  to  change  to  street  clothes  and  back  again  in  their 
free  period.  They  stay  in  the  hot  kitchen  because  no 
other  place  is  provided. 

Up  at  six,  away  at  6:30,  home  at  8  o'clock  at  night 
worn  out  by  the  wear  and  tear  of  twelve  hours'  toil,  a 
dress  and  an  apron  to  be  washed  and  ironed  for  to- 
morrow— after  a  day  like  this,  what  spirit  or  strength  is 
left  to  a  girl  for  play  and  the  friendly  relations  that  safe- 
guard her  from  moral  danger?  It  is  a  significant  fact 
that  with  few  exceptions  the  restaurant  worker  is  not 
known  to  settlements  and  girls'  clubs.  She  does  not 
share  the  group  interests  and  social  life  open  to  other 
working  girls.  Neither  does  she  make  friends  with  her 
fellow-workers — the  spring  and  vitality  needed  to  win 
and  establish  friendships  has  been  lost  under  the  deaden- 
ing effect  of  overwork. 

According  to  Miss  Mary  Van  Heeck's  estimate  in 
her  study  of  ** Working  Girls  in  Evening  Schools,"  less 
than  one  per  cent,  of  those  attending  were  restaurant 
workers.  They  simply  have  not  the  physical  strength 
for  outside  activities  and  interests.  Time  after  time  in 
answer  to  the  question  ^*What  do  you  do  in  the  even- 
ing?" came  the  reply,  **0h,  I  go  right  to  bed."  One 
girl,  who  left  the  work  because  of  broken  health,  said, 
''If  I  went  out  in  the  evening  I'd  be  sick  the  next  day, 
and  the  boss  would  say  I  couldn't  expect  to  do  good  work 
if  I  stayed  out  late  at  night." 

The  report  on  restaurants  of  the  Chicago  Juvenile 
Protective  Association,  emphasizes  a  truth  too  much 
ignored  when  it  says :  ''The  entire  investigation  revealed 
once  more  the  hideous  risks  of  the  excessively  fatigued 
and  overworked  girl,  who  is  able  to  obtain  the  rest  and 
comfort  she  craves  only  through  illicit  channels."* 

*The  Girl  Employed  in  Hotels  and  Restaurants.  Juvenile  Protective 
Association  of  Chicago,  1912. 


16 


oaned  by  the  Tenement  House  Department  of  the  City  of  New  York. 

Restaurant  Kitchen  Opening  on  Row  of  Toilets. 


Night  Woek  and  One  Day's  Rest  in  Seven. 

Although  the  number  of  women  employed  in  restau- 
rants at  night  is  not  great,  night  work  in  this  occupation 
is  a  factor  to  be  seriously  considered.  The  restaurants 
which  employ  women  at  night  are  the  small  establish- 
ments in  the  tenement  districts  of  the  city  where  hours 
are  longest  and  surroundings  most  trying;  the  cheaper 
restaurants  in  the  theatre  districts  where  the  employ- 
ment of  women  is  an  added  attraction  to  after-the-theatre 
supper  parties;  and  restaurants  in  railway  stations 
which  are  necessarily  open  all  night. 

The  law  makes  it  illegal  to  employ  women  in  factories 
and  mercantile  establishments  between  10  p.  m.  and  6  a.  m. 
The  reasons  which  caused  the  state  to  exercise  its  police 
power  to  safeguard  the  health  and  morals  of  these  classes 
of  workers  apply  equally  to  the  employment  of  women  in 
restaurants.  The  very  fact  that  only  four  per  cent,  of 
the  workers  interviewed  were  employed  at  night  proves 
that  night  work  for  women  in  restaurants  is  not  a  neces- 
sary evil.    That  it  is  an  evil  is  beyond  question. 

The  dangers  of  night  work  are  two-fold.  First,  it  is 
a  distinct  menace  to  the  health  of  the  worker.  The  Fac- 
tory Investigating  Commission  in  its  Eeport  to  the  Leg- 
islature for  1913,  states:  **The  chief  danger  to  health 
from  night  work  is  .  .  .  due  to  the  inevitable  lack  of 
sleep  and  sunlight.  Recuperation  from  fatigue  takes 
place  fully  only  in  sleep,  and  best  in  sleep  at  night.  Hence 
night  work  is,  in  a  word,  against  nature.  This  injury  to 
health  is  all  the  greater  because  sleep  lost  at  night  by 
working  women  is  never  fully  made  up  by  day.  For, 
in  the  first  place,  sleep  in  the  day  time  is  not  equal  in  re- 
cuperative power  to  sleep  at  night.  .  .  .  Moreover, 
quiet  and  privacy  for  sleep  by  day  is  almost  impossible 
to  secure.  Upon  returning  home  in  the  middle  of  the 
night  or  at  dawn  the  workers  can  snatch  at  most  only  a 
few  hours'  rest." 

Often  a  woman  will  have  one  week  of  night  work 
alternating  with  a  week  of  work  in  the  day  time.  IShe 
hardly  gets  accustomed  to  sleeping  by  day  when  she  ia 
taken  off  the  night  shift,  to  change  back  again  at  the  end 
of  the  week.  Thus  it  is  impossible  for  her  to  form  regu- 
lar habits  in  sleeping  and  eating. 

Secondly,  there  is  a  grave  moral  danger  involved  in 

17 


night  work,  especially  for  restaurant  workers  since  at 
this  time  they  are  open  to  the  attentions  of  an  undesir- 
able class  of  men.  ^*I  don^t  like  to  work  at  night/'  one 
young  waitress  said.  **The  men  are  always  fresher  to 
girls  at  night  than  in  the  day  time.  Perhaps  it's  because 
so  many  of  those  gamblers  come  in  drunk. ' '  Nor  is  it 
safe  for  a  woman  to  go  home  alone  after  twelve  o'clock 
at  night.  Instances  of  hideous  occurrences  are  familiar 
to  everyone.  A  little  widow,  the  mother  of  seven  chil- 
dren, told  the  investigator  that  she  had  given  up  her 
work  as  a  dishwasher  for  this  very  reason.  A  friend  of 
hers  working  in  a  nearby  restaurant,  was  set  upon, 
robbed  and  killed  on  her  way  home  from  work  late  one 
night.  **I  changed  my  work  then,"  said  the  woman, 
**for  what  would  the  children  do  if  anything  happened 
to  me?" 

The  majority  of  restaurants  employ  men  for  night 
duty.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  employment  of 
women  is  not  essential  to  the  convenience  and  comfort 
of  either  restaurant  owners  or  customers. 

In  nearly  every  branch  of  industry  the  working  week 
is  six  days  long.  It  is  universally  conceded  that  there 
must  be  one  day  in  the  seven  for  rest  and  relaxation  if 
men  and  women  are  to  give  their  best  service.  With 
restaurant  workers,  thirty-three  per  cent,  of  whom  have 
no  day  of  rest  in  seven,  the  need  for  such  a  time  is  parti- 
cularly great  because  of  the  long  working  day.  Other- 
wise they  have  no  opportunity  for  a  thorough  rest  and 
the  poisons  of  fatigue  are  not  thrown  off.  If  these 
poisons  are  not  eliminated,  they  accumulate  in  the  system 
and  finally  result  in  physical  breakdown. 

And  not  only  is  this  free  day  important  on  the  score 
of  health,  but  it  is  also  the  time  for  recreation  and  the 
strengthening  of  family  ties.  For  the  girl  who  has  no 
leisure,  no  time  for  real  relaxation  and  play,  there  is 
only  a  starved  and  empty  existence.  A  woman  who  has 
no  opportunity  to  be  with  and  to  know  her  children,  who 
must  leave  them  to  the  care  of  friends  or  a  day  nursery 
or  the  street,  who  has  no  day  in  the  week  to  be  at  home 
with  them,  can  hardly  be  a  potent  factor  in  shaping  their 
lives.  She  suffers  and  so  do  the  children,  and  the  stabil- 
ity of  such  a  family  life  is  at  best  uncertain.  One  woman 
said,  **If  I  get  a  half  day  off  on  Sunday  to  be  with  my 
children,  it  makes  me  happy  all  the  week." 

18 


Bi  under  31  years 

Bi  31  and  under  30  years 

@3  30  years  and  over 


^  foreign 
^S  American 


Diagram  7. — Ages  of  Women  Res- 
taurant Workers  Employed  Over 
54  Hours  Weekly. 


Diagram  8. — Nationality  of  Women 
Restaurant  Workers  Employed 
Over  54  Hours  Weekly. 


The  Long-Day  Workebs. 

Who  are  the  workers  that  bear  the  brunt  of  the  long 
hours  in  restaurants?    They  are  for  the  most  part  the 
younger  women  and  girls — those  who  are  most  likely  to 
be  injured  by  overstrain.    They  are  the  very  ones  whom 
it  is  to  society's  interest  to  protect  most  carefully  since 
by  their  strength  is  measured  the  strength  of  the  next'\ 
generation.     Less  than  thirty  per  cent,  of  all  workers  \ 
exceeding  fifty-four  hours  a  week  are  over  thirty  years  J 
of  age.    (See  Diagram  7.) 

Foreign-born  women  also  make  up  the  greater  part  of 
this  group.  (See  Diagram  8.)  They  do  not  Imow  how  to 
protect  themselves  from  employers'  unreasonable  de- 
mands, they  must  have  work  and  they  are  not  trained 
for  anything  except  unskilled  labor.  They  will  work 
any  number  of  hours  exacted  by  the  employer  whatever 
the  cost,  until  exhaustion  renders  them  unfit  for  labor  of 
any  kind. 


19 


WAGES. 

Weekly  Wages. 

The  wage  of  restaurant  workers  is  of  immediate  in- 
y^rest  to  everyone  who  enters  a  restaurant.     You  not 
/only  pay  for  your  food,  but  your  tip  helps  to  pay  the 
I  waitresses  salary.    It  is  upon  this  source  of  income  that 
/    she  depends  for  the  greater  part  of  her  earnings.    Any 
/     study  of  wages  in  this  branch  of  industry  must  take  into 
consideration  not  only  that  tips  form  a  large  part  of  the 
income  of  waitresses  but  that  the  majority  of  women 
get  all  their  meals  at  the  restaurant,  or  the  equivalent  of 
$3.00  a  week  in  addition   to   actual   wages.*    Professor 
Streightoff  has  fixed  upon  $9.00  a  week  as  the  minimum 
amount  upon  which  a  girl  can  live  independently  in  New 
York  City.f    Eighty-seven  per  cent  of  all  women  restau- 
rant workers  are  being  paid  less  than  $9.00,  but  when 
food  and  tips  are  estimated  and  added,  the  proportion 
receiving  less  than  a  living  wage  is  thirty-one  per  cent. 
While  it  is  true  therefore  that  the  majority  of  workers  in 
restaurants  are  earning  enough  to  support  themselves,  it 
is  a  matter  for  grave  concern  that  so  large  a  number  of 
women  are  being  forced  below  the  lowest  point  at  which 
they  can  maintain  health  and  decency. 

Moreover  this  $9.00  a  week  minimum  does  not  allow 
for  saving  against  illness,  dentist's  bills,  unemployment 
or  any  other  emergency.  Taking  $10.00  a  week  as  the 
least  upon  which  a  girl  can  live  and  save,  we  find  that 
forty-nine  per  cent,  of  these  women  are  receiving  in 
actual  wages  or  their  equivalent  less  than  this  amount. 
A  few  restaurant  workers  live  at  their  place  of  employ- 
ment, thus  receiving  lodging  as  well  as  board,  but  as  this 
is  true  of  only  four  per  cent.,  the  proportion  is  too  small 
to  affect  appreciably  the  wage  scale  as  a  whole. 

It  is  upon  the  kitchen  and  pantry  hands  who  make  up 

twenty-eight  per  cent,  of  all  the  workers  that  the  burden 

of  low  wages  falls  most  heavily.    Waitresses  have  the 

f  opportunity  to  make  tips,  cooks  receive  comparatively 

(^  fair  wages  because  their  work  requires  a  certain  amount 

*  Report   of   the    State    Factory    Investigating   Commission    for    1915, 
Vol.  IV,  p.  1593. 
t  Ibid.,  p.  1609. 

20 


All  workers 


Waitresses 


Cooks 


□rjt 


D 


3^ 


9^ 


4356 


38^ 


Helpers 

^^^^^^^m 

■Hi 

■■■■ 

■  59^ 

1 

]33^ 

HIHIi 

I33/. 

HHH 

|^I^H| 

Hes^ 

D35i 

KErm 

under  $6 

$6  and  \inder  $10 

$10  and  over 

1    1 

Diagram  9.— Weekly  Wages  of  Women  Employed  in  Restaurants. 


of  skill,  but  the  other  women  cannot  make  tips  and  their 
unskilled  labor  is  very  poorly  paid.  One-third  are  receiv- 
ing less  than  $6.00  a  week,  and  three-fourths  less  than 
$7.00.    (See  Diagram  9.) 

The  income  of  a  restaurant  worker  is  not  clear  gain. 
Certain  expenses  are  involved  in  the  work  which  she 
must  meet  herself.    In  restaurants  where  a  special  dress 
is  required  the  waitress  must  provide  her  own  uniforms,    / 
and  she  must  also  either  wash  them  herself,  or  pay  for 
having  them  laundered.    Two  clean  uniforms  a  week  is      / 
the  usual  requirement  and  in  some  cases  three.    The  re-    ^ 
port  of  the  United  States  Labor  Department  estimates 
that  it  costs  a  girl  about  $0.63  a  week  for  the  laundering 
of  her  aprons  alone.*    It  costs  $0.25  to  have  a  uniform 
laundered,  which  means  $1.13  must  be  deducted  from  the 
$3.50  a  week  usually  paid  to  waitresses  in  tea-rooms,  j 
where  special  dresses  are  always  required.    In  one  New  / 
York  tea-room  the  girls  must  have  two  sets  of  uniforms,  ( 
a  white  dress  with  white  shoes,  and  a  blue  dress  with  / 
black  shoes.    Each  uniform  costs  $2.50. 

Fines  also  eat  into  the  restaurant  worker's  earnings. 
Girls  are  commonly  fined  for  lateness,  one  particular   \ 
restaurant  exacting  $0.25  if  a  girl  is  ten  minutes  late.    \ 
Her  pay  is  always  cut  for  breakage,  and  in  some  places    / 
a  certain  amount  is  deducted  weekly  whether  she  breaks  ( 
any  dishes  or  not.    Also,  mistakes  in  adding  up  checks,  / 
either  over  or  under  the  correct  amount,  and  mistakes  in  \ 
orders,  must  be  paid  for  by  the  waitress.    **  Those  are  J 
the  things  that  make  the  girls  mad, ' '  said  one.    In  one  i 
New  York  tea-room  this  summer,  a  customer  was  served  i 
with  hot  coffee,  when  she  had  asked  for  iced  tea,  the  ^ 
waitress  misunderstanding  the  order.    The  mistake  was 
corrected  and  the  iced  tea  substituted.   When  the  waitress 
brought  the  customer  her  check,  however,  both  tea  and 
coffee  were  charged,  and  the  girl  laid  down  twenty  cents 
upon  the  table.     '*You  know,  we  have  to  pay  for  our 
mistakes,''  she  said. 

What  low  wages  mean  in  actual  living  cannot  be  ex- 
pressed by  figures.  Poor  quarters  in  questionable  parts 
of  the  city,  clothing  of  the  most  utilitarian  kind,  no 
naoney  for  the  pretty  things  that  every  well-constituted 
girl  wants,  nothing  for  recreation,  and  worst  of  all,  debts 

*  Women  and  Child  Wage-earners,  Vol.  V,  p.  362. 

21 


after  illness  or  unemployment  which  take  the  very  heart 
out  of  a  girl  in  the  bitter  struggle  to  pay  them  off.  The 
proprietor  of  a  Buffalo  employment  agency  remarked, 
^*Look  at  the  Wants  Ads;  with  the  many  factories  in 
Buffalo  you  will  find  the  list  **Help  Wanted  for  Restau- 
rants * '  equals  that  of  ^  *  Help  Wanted  for  Factory  Work, ' ' 
and  what  does  that  mean? — Simply  that  the  restaurant 
workers  are  a  discontented  lot  and  all  because  of  the  ex- 
cessively long  hours  and  low  wages/' 


22 


^f4 

1 

/ 

» 

\ 

/ 

V 

10^ 
5f» 

/ 

\ 

/ 

V 

/ 

0 

.^^. 

/,..\ 

-''' 

\ 

:r::-= 

0         |1        %Z       $3       $4        $5        5?6        $7        §8        $9     §10     015     $30 

Diagram   10.— Comparison  of  Weekly  Wages    (black  line)    and  Weekly 
Income  (dotted  line)  of  Waitresses  in  Restaurants. 

The  Tipping  System. 

Tipping  is  a  direct  drag  upon  wages.  When  the  pub- 
lic is  perfectly  willing  to  contribute  part  of  a  waitress's 
wage,  why  should  not  the  employer  take  advantage  of 
this  fact  and  pay  her  less?  That  is  surely  to  be  expected 
and  is  almost  universally  the  case.  Many  girls,  accus- 
tomed to  making  a  good  deal  in  tips  or  ^' scale,''  as  they 
call  it,  would  not  be  willing  to  work  for  $9.00  a  week 
and  no  tips,  for  they  can  often  make  more  than  this 
amount.  But  the  better  class  of  girl  would  prefer  a 
living  wage  and  no  tips.  .  As  matters  stand  now,  however, 
they  are  a  very  necessary  part  of  a  girl's  income. 

Comparing  the  weekly  wage  and  the  weekly  income 
of  waitresses  as  shown  in  Diagram  10,  we  find  that  with- 
out tips  only  8  per  cent,  make  as  much  as  $9.00  a  week, 
while  with  tips  50  per  cent,  receive  $9.00  or  more.  :  The 
custom  of  tipping  has  two  distinct  disadvantages. 
First,  it  is  an  unreliable  source  of  income.  A  ^rl  may 
reasonably  expect  to  make  a  certain  amount  in  tips,  but 
she  cannot  count  upon  doing  so.  The  danger  here  is  not 
only  that  she  will  receive  less  than  it  is  possible  for  her 
to  live  on,  but  that  she  will  get  into  debt,  trusting  to  luck 
that  her  tips  will  be  large  enough  to  get  her  out.  It  ia 
very  easy  to  be  over-confident.  A  tea-room  waitress 
said:  ** Sometimes  I  make  $12.00  a  week  in  tips,  some- 
times almost  nothing.  You  can't  depend  on  people." 
Tea-rooms  are  the  greatest  sinners  in  respect  to  making 
their  waitresses  depend  upon  tips.  The  usual  wage  in 
several  of  the  well-known  New  York  tea-rooms  is  $3.50 
a  week  for  full  time,  which  is  ten  or  twelve  hours  a  day. 

23 


,  '  The  other  aspect  of  tipping  presents  a  more  subtle 
danger.  The  girls  need  the  money  and  they  deliberately 
work  for  it,  partly  by  good  service,  and  partly  by  adopt- 
ing an  intimate  personal  tone  toward  their  men  custom- 
ers. This  leads  naturally  to  familiarity  on  the  man's 
part  and  establishes  a  personal  relation  between  them.) 
Most  of  the  girls  quite  frankly  admit  making  ** dates'' 
with  strange  men.  In  one  restaurant  a  woman  was 
pointed  out  in  incredulous  admiration  by  the  other  wait- 
resses. ^'Her  husband  has  been  dead  four  years,  and 
she  hasn't  gone  out  with  a  man  yet,"  they  said.  These 
** dates''  are  made  with  no  thought  on  the  part  of  the 
girl  beyond  getting  the  good  time  which  she  cannot  af- 
ford herself,  but  the  outcome  is  often  a  tragedy.  The 
restaurants  in  one  city  of  the  state  forbid  unnecessary 
conversation  between  waitress  and  customer  because 
conditions  resulting  from  the  practice  became  so  fla- 
grant. The  result  of  this  custom  is  that  girls  are  ap- 
proached to  whom  any  attention  from  their  men  custom- 
ers is  most  distasteful.  The  report  of  the  United  States 
Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  says:  **Many  of  the  wait- 
resses complain  of  the  annoying  attention  of  male  cus- 
tomers. Many  girls  said,  however,  that  if  they  speak 
sharply  to  a  customer  or  offend  him,  they  are  likely  to  be 
reprimanded  by  the  head  waitress  and  may  even  lose 
their  position."* 

The  Juvenile  Protective  Association  of  Chicago  con- 
siders tipping  a  vicious  system.  (  **The  giving  of  tips 
should  be  abolished  because  of  their  pernicious  effect.  A 
young  girl  who  under  any  other  circumstances  would 
not  dream  of  accepting  money  from  a  man  will  accept  it 
in  the  guise  of  a  tip.  In  the  hands  of  a  vicious  man  this 
tip  establishes  between  him  and  the  girl  a  relation  of 
subserviency  and  patronage  which  may  easily  be  made 
the  beginning  of  improper  attentions.  The  most  con- 
scientious girl,  dependent  upon  tips  to  eke  out  her  slender 
wage,  finds  it  difficult  to  determine  just  where  the  line 
of  propriety  is  crossed.  Thus,  in  addition  to  the  other 
dangers  surrounding  the  girls  employed  in  hotels  and 
restaurants,  they  encounter  the  lack  of  respect  which 
curiously  attaches  itself  to  one  who  accepts  a  gratuity,  "t 

*  Women  and  Child  Wage-earners  in  the  United  States,  Vol.  V,  p.  199. 
tThe  Girl  Employed  in  Hotels  and  Restaurants.    Juvenile  Protective 
Association  of  Chicago,  1912. 

24 


no  time  unemployed 

45f.                         1 

less  than  3  weeks 

14^      1 

2  weeks  and  less  than  1  month 

13f. 

1 

1  month  and  less  than  3  months 

15f. 

3  months  and  over 

13fi 

1 

Diagram   11. — Length  of  Time  Unemployed  in  Past  Year.* 

Irregularity  of  Employment. 

Closely  connected  with  the  question  of  wages  is  the 
possibility  of  being  ont  of  a  job.  If  a  girl  is  earning 
$10.00  a  week  she  may  be  able,  with  the  most  carefiil 
saving,  to  lay  aside  enough  to  tide  her  over  two  or  three 
weeks  of  unemployment.  But  the  savings  from  a  $10.00 
weekly  wage  do  not  last  long.  Twenty-eight  per  cent,  of 
these  women  were  out  of  work  one  month  or  longer  in 
the  past  year  because  of  the  slack  season,  illness,  change 
of  their  place  of  employment  or  for  some  other  reason. 
The  girl  who  cannot  save  is  in  a  desperate  condition  in- 
deed. For  her,  prolonged  unemployment  means  debt, 
heart  breaking  anxiety  and  dependence. 

Girls  in  restaurant  work  do  not  get  vacations  with 
pay  except  in  very  rare  instances.    One  well-known  New    I 
York  firm  having  tea-rooms  in  various  parts  of  the  city,    I 
is  to  be  congratulated  on  the  fact  that  it  does  give  its  j 
waitresses  a  vacation  with  pay.    A  few  of  the  married     ..^^^ 
women,  or  those  who  have  families  to  care  for  them,  can  j  / 
afford  to  take  time  out  of  the  yearns  work  for  a  rest.    But 
when  a  girl  is  not  working,  it  is  for  the  most  part  a 
matter  of  stem  necessity  and  inevitably  means  a  time  of 
struggle  and  suffering. 

Eestaurants  do  not  labor  under  the  difficulties  of  sea- 
sonal employment.  We  should  expect  to  find  a  steadiness 
in  this  occupation  which  the  facts  do  not  bear  out.  It  is 
therefore  evident  that  the  instability  of  the  work  and  con- 
stant shifting  is  due  to  the  unsatisfactory  nature  of  the 
employment  itself.  The  large  proportion  of  workers  out  i 
of  employment  for  one  month  or  more  a  year  (20%)  is  j 
striking  evidence  of  this  fact.  I 

*30%  of  the  workers  interviewed  had  just  begun  work  or  did  not 
report  on  this  point,  so  they  have  not  been  included  in  these  figures. 

25 


less  than  1   year            IH^HL 
10  year 3  and  over           HIHIHI 

1 

■ 

■IB  less  than  '!$6      i I  $6  or  over 

Diagram  12. — Weekly  Wages  of  Women  Employed  in  Restaurants  accord- 
ing to  Length  of  Time  in  this  Occupation. 

Lack  of  Opportunity  in  Restaurant  Work. 

Restaurant  work  is  a  *^ blind  alley''  trade.  There  is 
J  little  opportunity  for  development  or  advancement.  What 
■  training  is  necessary  can  be  acquired  in  a  few  weeks,  and 
I  the  only  position  to  which  a  girl  can  look  forward  is  that 
of  head  waitress.  There  are  no  recognized  degrees  of 
skill  in  any  part  of  the  work  connected  with  a  restaurant. 
On  the  contrary,  the  tendency  is  in  the  direction  of  wear- 
ing girls  out  by  overstrain  rather  than  of  giving  them  a 
chance.  The  girls  who  have  been  in  the  work  the  short- 
est time  get  higher  pay  than  those  who  have  been  in  it 
longest.  Sixty-five  per  cent,  of  those  who  had  been 
working  less  than  a  year  were  getting  $6.00  or  more  a 
week,  while  only  fifty-five  per  cent,  of  those  who  had  been 
working  over  ten  years  were  receiving  as  much.  (See 
Diagram  12.)  The  woman  who  remains  in  restaurant 
work  for  more  than  a  few  years  gradually  loses  her 
strength  and  ability,  and  can  get  a  position  only  with  an 
inferior  type  of  restaurant,  where  the  necessity  for  hav- 
ing a  job  forces  her  to  accept  whatever  wage  is  offered 
her. 


26 


SUMMARY  OF  STUDY. 

The  law  has  declared  illegal  the  employment  of  women 
in  mercantile  establishments  longer  than  fifty-four  hours 
or  six  days  in  any  one  week,  on  the  ground  that  a  work- 
ing day  of  more  than  nine  hours,  or  a  working  week  of 
more  than  six  days,  is  prejudicial  to  the  health  of  the 
worker  and  therefore  to  the  welfare  of  society.  It  has 
also  declared  illegal  the  employment  of  these  women  at 
night  and  it  safeguards  their  interests  further  by  insist- 
ing upon  a  definite  period  for  the  mid-day  meal.  Fifty- 
eight  per  cent.  (58%)  of  the  women  employed  in  res- 
taurants exceed  the  fifty-four  hour  limit,  twenty  per  cent. 
(20%)  work  twelve  hours  a  day  and  four  per  cent 
(4%)  are  employed  at  night.  One-third  do  not  have 
one  day  of  rest  in  seven,  and  the  majority  are  not  allowed 
time  off  for  their  meals.  Do  not  these  women  also  need 
the  protection  of  the  law? 

Restaurant  work  has  much  in  common  with  work  in 
mercantile  establishments.  Continuous  standing  and 
walking  and  the  nervous  strain  entailed  in  serving  many 
customers  are  features  of  both  occupations.  Besides  this, 
restaurant  work  necessitates  the  lifting  and  carrying  of 
heavy  weights  which  may  easily  be  disastrous  not  only 
to  the  worker  herself,  but  to  her  children.  Dr.  Harris 
has  expressly  stated  his  belief  that  such  work  ^vill  injure 
the  reproductive  organs  of  a  women  unless  she  is  guarded 
from  overstrain.  The  larger  proportion  of  restaurant 
workers  are  girls  and  young  women,  who  are  peculiarly 
susceptible  to  overstrain  because  of  their  youth. 

There  is  abundant  evidence  from  the  testimony  of  the 
girls  themselves  that  restaurant  work  is  a  severe  tax  and 
that  the  need  for  limiting  hours  of  labor  is  strongly  felt 
among  them.  Here  are  quoted  a  few  of  the  remarks  made 
by  them,  which  could  be  duplicated  many  times : 

**I  think  it's  a  shame  to  let  a  woman  work  twelve 
hours  a  day.  I'm  so  tired  at  night  I  can't  do  anything 
but  go  to  bed. ' ' 

*'I  can't  keep  a  job  longer  than  four  months  because 
I  get  so  nervous." 

**This  is  my  second  week  and  I'm  nearly  dead,  the 
hours  are  so  long." 

**It  would  be  the  grandest  thing  in  the  world  if  they 
could  do  away  with  the  twelve-hour  day. ' ' 

27 


To  resist  the  unavoidable  strain  of  the  work,  the 
restaurant  worker  must  be  in  a  normal,  healthy  state  of 
mind  and  body.  Our  responsibility  lies  in  seeing  to  it 
that  conditions  are  such  as  to  make  this  possible. 

The  results  of  fatigue  do  not  end  with  the  individual. 
It  is  common  knowledge  that  health  depends  upon  the 
power  to  resist  disease.  The  person  who  has  overworked 
is  not  only  subject  to  the  devastating  action  of  fatigue 
poisons,  but  is  a  prey  to  any  infections  to  which  he  may 
be  exposed  because  he  cannot  throw  them  off.  Working 
conditions  which  render  large  numbers  of  men  and 
women  susceptible  to  disease,  and  hence  capable  of 
spreading  it,  are  a  public  menace.  To  allow  such  condi- 
tions to  continue  unchecked  is  inexcusable  negligence. 

These  facts  point  directly  to  the  crying  need  for  the 
limitation  of  hours  for  women  in  restaurants,  that  the 
individual  worker  may  be  protected  from  overstrain,  that 
the  community  may  be  guarded  from  the  spread  of  con- 
tagious disease  by  people  predisposed  to  infection 
through  fatigue,  and  that  the  children  of  these  women 
may  be  strong  and  capable  of  becoming  useful  citizens. 

It  must  be  conceded  that  the  difficulty  of  regulating 
hours  in  restaurants  is  much  greater  than  in  mercantile 
establishments.  Eestaurants  must  be  open  for  a  longer 
period  each  day  than  any  store  needs  to  be  or  is  likely  to 
be.  But  the  difficulties  are  not  insuperable.  By  working 
the  employees  in  shifts  of  nine  consecutive  hours  a  day 
and  six  days  a  week,  and  by  replacing  women  by  men  for 
night  duty,  the  most  undesirable  features  of  restaurant 
work  would  be  abolished.  Such  a  plan  has  already  been 
tried  successfully  in  a  number  of  New  York  restaurants, 
proving  that  it  is  possible  and  feasible  to  regulate  hours. 

To  limit  by  law  the  hours  of  labor  for  women  employed 
in  restaurants  cannot  be  considered  a  new  or  revolu- 
tionary step.  New  York  is  already  far  behind  the  major- 
ity of  other  states  in  this  respect.  At  the  present  time, 
twenty-seven  states  regulate  the  number  of  hours  that 
women  may  work  in  restaurants,  five  having  the  eight- 
hour  day.*  Clearly,  therefore,  the  establishment  of  a 
normal  working  day  for  this  class  of  workers  is  not  only 
reasonable,  but,  in  the  opinion  of  the  greater  number  of 
states,  it  is  essential  to  the  best  welfare  of  their  people 
as  a  whole. 

*  See  Appendix  VI. 

28 


RECOMMENDATIONS    FOR    LEG-ISLATIVE 
AMENDMENT. 

In  view  of  the  evidence  brought  to  bear  upon  the  sub- 
ject, The  Consumers'  League  wishes  to  urge  the  inclu- 
sion of  women  restaurant  workers  under  the  Mercantile 
Law,  the  general  provisions  of  which  are : 

(1)  That  the  working  day  shall  not  exceed  nine  (9) 

and  the  working  week  fifty-four  (54)  hours.. 

(2)  That  women  shall  not  be  employed  between  the 

hours  of  10  p.  m.  and  7  a.  m. 

(3)  That  there  shall  be  one  day  of  rest  in  seven,  and 

(4)  That  there  shall  be  a  regular  time  off  each  day 

for  meals. 


29 


APPENDIX  I. 


31 


A    STATEMENT    FROM    THE    LABOR    DEPART- 
MENT OF  THE  STATE  OF  NEW  YORK  ADVO- 
CATINa  THE  LIMITATION  OF  HOURS  OF 
WORK  FOR  RESTAURANT  EMPLOYEES.* 

At  present  restaurant  employees  do  not  come  within 
the  provisions  of  the  law  relative  to  hours  of  labor  of 
females,  or  the  day  of  rest  law.  To  the  casual  observer 
it  is  very  evident  that  there  is  no  other  employment  in 
which  males  and  females  are  employed,  where  the  hours 
of  labor  are  so  long,  and  where  the  employees  are  com- 
pelled to  be  constantly  on  their  feet.  It  is  admitted  that 
there  is  no  class  of  work  in  which  so  large  a  percentage 
of  females  is  employed.  The  Legislature  has  recognized 
that  the  females  working  in  restaurants  should  be  pro 
tected  to  some  extent,  by  providing  in  section  17  of  the 
Labor  Law  that  *' Every  person  employing  females — as 
waitresses  in  a  hotel  or  restaurant  shall  provide  and 
maintain  suitable  seats'*  but  by  the  very  nature  of  their 
work  the  employees  have  no  opportunity  to  use  these 
seats.  There  seems  to  be  no  good  reason  why  the  hours 
of  employment  of  females  in  restaurants  should  not  be 
subject  to  law  as  in  mercantile  establishments,  and  that 
all  those  employed  in  the  same  should  enjoy  the  benefits 
of  the  day  of  rest  law,  as  they  do  in  other  employments. 
The  evil  resulting  from  restaurants  being  exempt  from 
\  the  provisions  of  the  Labor  Law  relating  to  hours  and 
\  day  of  rest,  is  shown  in  the  fact  that  bakeries  and  con- 
fectionery establishments  have  added  to  their  business 
the  serving  of  sandwiches  and  lunches,  and  endeavor  to 
escape  the  provisions  of  the  law  by  claiming  that  they 
are  exempt  because  they  are  operating  a  restaurant. 
This  illustrates  the  subterfuge  to  which  many  employers 
will  resort  rather  than  comply  with  the  law. 

James  L.  Geisnon, 

Chief  Mercantile  Inspector, 


*  Annual  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor,  1914. 


32 


APPENDIX  II. 


33 


EXTRACTS  FROM  A  TENTATIVE   REPORT   ON 
THE  PHYSICAL  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  EM- 
PLOYEES IN  RESTAURANTS,  BASED  ON  A 
STUDY  CONDUCTED  BY  THE  OCCUPA- 
TIONAL CLINIC  OF  THE  HEALTH 
DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  CITY 
OF  NEW  YORK. 

From  such  opportunities  for  observation  as  our  clinic 
study  afforded  us,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  this  occupation 
is  one  which  may  affect  the  health  of  women  and  in  con- 
nection with  long  hours  and  small  wages  may  combine 
to  cause  an  increased  existence  of  sickness  among  them. 
The  effect  of  work  that  requires  standing  and  running 
about  while  carrying  loads  for  many  hours  during  the 
day  will  be  particularly  marked  upon  the  generative  or- 
gans of  the  woman.  The  influence  of  the  work  in  this 
particular,  which  we  are  unfortunately  unable  to  study, 
because  of  the  opposition  it  would  inevitably  arouse, 
leads  me  to  believe  that  from  this  standpoint  alone,  there 
is  a  definite  hazard  to  the  child-bearing  capacity  of  the 
woman.  This  is  of  vital  consequence  to  society  as  a 
whole,  as  well  as  to  the  individual  workers,  and  therefore 
well  justifies  every  effort  to  correct  the  undesirable  con- 
ditions that  attend  this  occupation. 

Louis  I.  Habbis, 
Chief,  Division  of  Indnestrial  Hygiene. 


34 


APPENDIX  III. 


35 


EESTAUEANT  WOEK  FEOM  A  WOEKEE^S 
POINT  OF  VIEW. 

' '  A  nine  hour  law  would  be  a  very  good  thing.  I  think 
long  hours  are  very  bad  for  women  in  restaurants.  Most 
of  them  have  varicose  veins  and  flat  feet,  and  a  large 
number  suffer  from  stomach  trouble.  Look  at  me,  I  am 
strong  and  healthy,  but  when  I'm  through  at  night,  I  am 
just  all  in.    It's  a  dreadful  nervous  strain. 

**  Girls  have  to  live  on  tips.  If  you  tell  the  boss  you 
can't  make  any,  he  says  you  are  no  good  and  discharges 
you.  You  have  to  put  up  with  it  or  starve.  The  ma- 
jority of  girls — the  better  class  of  waitresses — if  they 
could  get  a  good  living  would  be  glad  to  do  without  tips. 
Of  course  it  would  be  a  revolution  and  would  require  a 
lot  of  agitation. 

**  Girls  in  restaurant  work  have  greater  temptations 
than  most  girls.  Advances  are  always  made,  especially 
in  certain  districts.  A  great  number  go  wrong  because 
of  so  many  advances. 

*  *  Nothing  has  ever  been  done  for  restaurant  workers. 
The  bosses  all  seem  to  think  we  are  a  lot  of  crooks.  Wait- 
resses think  the  same  of  them.  Girls  don't  change  their 
jobs  so  often  because  they  like  to.  They  get  fired,  mostly 
because  the  manager  just  wants  to,  or  the  work  is  too 
hard  and  the  place  miserable. 

''There  should  be  a  nine-hour  day,  and  two  meals  with 
half  an  hour  allowed  for  each.  Hours  should  be  arranged 
consecutively.  The  best  regulation  would  be  to  have 
girls  work  in  shifts,  going  on  at  eight  and  coming  off  at 
five,  or  going  on  at  eleven  and  working  until  eight.  The 
same  arrangement  could  be  made  for  the  kitchen  help." 


36 


APPENDIX  IV. 


37 


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APPENDIX.  V. 


39 


Table  1. 
Age  of  Women  Employed  in  Restaurants,  by  Occupation. 


Asre 

Waitresses 

Cooks 

Helpers 

Total 
at  each  asre 

No. 

Per 
Cent 

No. 

Per 

Cent 

No. 

Per 
Cent 

No. 

Per 
Cent 

14  and  under  16  years 
16  and  under  21  years 
21  and  under  30  years 
30  and  under  40  years 
40  and  under  50  years 
50  and  under  60  years 
60  years  and  over 

2 

77 

288 

127 

25 

4 

.3 

15.0 

55.0 

24.0 

4.7 

1.0 

'38 
54 
46 
37 
8 

2i!6 
29.4 
25.1 
20.2 
4.3 

130 

87 
35 
15 

3 
2 

is!  6 

32.0 

13.0 

5.3 

1.0 

.7 

2 

245 

429 

208 

77 

15 

2 

.2 

25.0 

44.0 

21.2 

8.0 

1.4 

.2 

Total 

523 

100.00 

183 

100.00  272 

100.00 

978*100.00 

*  Exclusive  of  39  women  who  did  not  report  on  this  point. 


Table  2. 
Age  of  Women  Employed  in  Restaurants,  by  Nationality. 


Nationality 


American 

Austro-Hungarian  . 

Danish 

Dutch 

Eng.  and  Canadian 

French  

German 

Greek 

Irish 

Italian 

Polish 

Russian 

Scandinavian 

Scotch 

Swiss 

West  Indian 

Total 


14  and 
under 
16  y'rs 


16  and 
under 
21  y'rs 


48 
155 


8 

19 

1 


242 


21  and 
under 
30  y'rs 


156 
137 

4 

16 

1 

36 

27 
2 
9 

14 
5 
1 
1 


411 


30  and 
under 
40  y'rs 


81 
55 


12 

1 

20 

22 
3 
3 
1 

4 

1 


206 


40  and 
under 
50  y'rs 


26 

18 
1 
2 
1 
2 

12 

ii 


76 


so  and 
under 
60  y'rs 


60  y'rs 
and 
over 


15 


Total 

in  each 

Nation- 

ality 


314 

370 

5 

2 

31 

5 

76 

1 

68 

5 

20 

37 

11 

2 

2 

5 


2       954* 


*  Exclusive  of  63  women  who  did  not  report  on  this  point. 


40 


Table  3. 
Age  of  Women  Employed  in  Restaurants,  by  Conjugal  Condition. 


Age 

Sinjple 

Married 

Widowed 

Separated 

or 
Divorced 

Total 
at  each  ajf  e 

14  and  under  16  years. . . 
16  and  under  21  years. .  . 
21  and  under  30  years.  .  . 
30  and  under  40  years. .  . 
40  and  under  50  years.  . . 
50  and  under  60  years.  . . 
60  years  and  over 

226 

2 

235 

42 
8 

i 

12 

153 

97 

40 

4 

2 

19 

53 

26 

9 

1 

14 
3 
2 

2 

241 
419 
206 

77 

15 

2 

Total 

514 

306 

110 

32 

962* 

*  Exclusive  of  55  women  who  did  not  report  on  this  point. 

Table  4. 
Age  of  Women  Employed  in  Restaurants,  by  Living  Condition. 


Livinsr  with 

Total 
at  each  aare 

Age 

Family 

Relatives 

Friends 

Furnis'd 
Room 

Proprie- 
tor 

14  and  under  16  years 
16  and  under  21  years 
21  and  under  30  years 
30  and  under  40  years 
40  and  under  50  years 
50  and  under  60  years 
60  years  and  over 

1 
82 
198 
92 
45 
11 

78 

74 

37 

5 

2 

59 
62 
24 

4 

1 

18 
64 
36 
17 
1 
3 

6 
16 
10 

4 

2 

243 

414 

199 

75 

14 

2 

Total 

429 

196 

149 

139 

36 

949* 

*  Exclusive  of  68  women  who  did  not  report  on  this  point. 

TabijB  5. 
Age  of  Women  Employed  in  Restaurants,  by  Weekly  Hours  of  Labor. 


Total 

14  and 

16  and 

21  and 

30  and 

40  and 

so  and 

60  y'rs 

in  each 

Weekly  Hours  of  I/abor 

under 

under 

under 

under 

under 

under 

and 

hour 

16  y'rs 

21  y'rs 

30  y'rs 

40  y'rs 

50  y'rs 

60  y'rs 

over 

group 

54  hours  and  under. . . 

2 

77 

193 

109 

27 

6 

1 

415 

55  and  under  65  hours 

67 

85 

22 

12 

3 

189 

65  and  under  75  hours 

47 

76 

32 

15 

1 

171 

75  and  under  85  hours 

41 

58 

34 

14 

4 

1 

153 

85  and  under  95  years 

5 

14 

10 

5 

34 

95  and  under  105  years 

5 

3 

2 

1 

11 

105  years  and  over  . . . 

3 

i 

2 

•• 

6 

Total  

2 

245 

429 

208 

77 

15 

2 

978* 

*  Exclusive  of  39  women  who  did  not  report  on  this  point. 

41 


Tabi,k  6. 


Weekly  Hours  of  Labor  of  Women  Employed  in  Restaurants  by 

Occupation. 


Waitresses 

Cooks 

Helpers 

Total  in  each 

Weekly  Hours  of  Labor 

Per 

Per 

Per 

Per 

No. 

Cent 

No. 

Cent 

No. 

Cent 

No. 

Cent 

Under  15  hours 

6 

1.0 

1 

.3 

7 

.7 

15  and  under  25  h'rs . . 

75 

14.0 

i 

.5 

7 

2.4 

83 

8.1 

25  and  under  35  h'rs. . 

89 

16.2 

1 

.5 

22 

7.5 

112 

11.0 

35  and  under  45  h'rs. . 

45 

8.2 

7 

4.0 

13 

4.5 

65 

6.3 

45  and  under  55  h'rs. . 

100 

18.2 

17 

9.0 

42 

15.0 

159 

16.0 

55  and  under  65  h'rs. . 

78 

14.2 

34 

18.0 

85 

30.1 

197 

19.3 

65  and  under  75  h'rs. . 

68 

12.4 

51 

27.0 

64 

23.0 

183 

18.0 

75  and  under  85  h'rs. . 

73 

13.3 

49 

26.0 

36 

13.0 

158 

15.5 

85  and  under  95  h'rs. . 

11 

2.0 

15 

8.0 

9 

3.1 

35 

3.4 

95  and  under  105  h'rs. 

2 

.3 

7 

4.0 

3 

1.1 

12 

1.1 

105  hours  and  over. . . 

1 

.2 

5 

3.0 

.. 

6 

.6 

Total 

548 

100.0 

187 

100.0 

282 

100.0 

1017 

100.0 

Table  7. 

Weekly  Hours  of  Labor  of  Women  Employed  in  Restaurants  by 
Nationality. 


Nationality 


and 
under 


55  and 
under 
65  h'rs 


65  and 
under 
75  h'rs 


75  and 
under 
85  h'rs 


85  and 
under 
95  h'rs 


95  and 
under 
105  h's 


105  h's 
and 
over 


Total  in 
each  na- 
tionality 


American 190 

Austro-Hungarian.  I    83 

Danish 

Dutch 

EJngf.  and  Canadian 

French  

German 

Greek 

Irish 

Italian 

Polish 

Russian 

Scandinavian 

Scotch 

Swiss 

"West  Indian 


I    88 


i    38 
I    97 


41 
81 


1 

7 

1 

3 

3 

14 

15 

9 

"s 

7 

12 

1 

1 

1 

8 

2 

2 

10 

7 

2 

2 

1 

4 

18 


320 
379 

5 

2 
33 

5 
76 

1 
70 

6 
20 
37 
11 

2 

7 


Total 414       184    i  171       153        34 


12 


974* 


*  Exclusive  of  43  women  who  did  not  report  on  this  point. 


42 


Table  8. 
Weekly  Wages  of  Women  Employed  in  Restaurants  by  Occupation. 


Weekly  Waye 

Waitresses 

Cooks 

Helpers 

Total  ill  each 
wagre  grroup 

^o-       Cent 

AT              i        P" 

No.       Cent 

No. 

Per 
Cent 

No. 

Per 
Cent 

Under  $1 

1        !        !        i        ' 

1 

1 

10 

96 

130 

181 

241 

152 

69 

30 

75 

.1 

$1  and  under  $2 

2  and  under    3 

3  and  under    4 

4  and  under    5 

5  and  under    6 

6  and  under    7 

7  and  under    8 

8  and  under    9 

9  and  under  10 

10  and  over 

ij 

74 
107 
119 
107 

65 

26 
8 

10 

.1 

1.8 

14.0 

20.2 

23.0 

20.2 

12.2 

5.0 

1.5 

1.9 

1 

4 

11 

60 

.5 

2.1 

6.0 

8.1 

19.0 

20.0 

12.0 

32.3 

21     1     7^6 
19    i     7.0 

51  i  18.5 
119    !  43.4 

52  i  19.0 
7    '     2.5 

..     i 
5         2.0 

.1 

1.0 

10.0 

13.2 

18.3 

25.0 

15.3 

6.0 

3.0 

8.0 

Total 

528     100.0 

184     100.0 

274     100.0 

986* 

100.0 

*  Exclusive  of  31  women  who  did  not  report  on  this  point. 


Table  9. 
Weekly  Income  of  Women  Employed  in  Restaurants  by  Occupation. 


Weekly  Income 


Waitresses 


Under  $1 

$1  and  under  $2 

2  and  under    3 

3  and  under 

4  and  under 

5  and  under 

6  and  under 

7  and  under 
under 
under 
under 
under 


8  and 

9  and 
10  and 
15  and 


25  and  over 


Total. 


2 
16 
24 
47 
51 
61 
59 
60 
129 
73 
7 


533 


Cooks 


1 
4 
11 
IS 
35 
36 
22 
51 
9 


184 


Helpers 


21 

19 

51 

119 

52 
7 


Total 


274 


2 
2 

2 

38 

47 

109 

185 

148 

102 

82 

185 

82 

7 


991* 


*  Exclusive  of  36  women  who  did  not  report  on  this  point. 


43 


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APPENDIX  VI. 


47 


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